Save your hospitals: Kings College Hospital: 20th century

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This poster, designed by Benson's advertising agency, promotes the Hospitals of London Combined Appeal. It was designed by the artist Fallows Stansfield and relates to the fundraising appeal for King's College Hospital. It conforms to a standard design used for all the appeal's promotional material. Fundraising events included flag days, charity balls, fairs, bazaars, carnivals, ballroom dancing competitions, concerts, exhibitions and sporting events. The campaign also included London's first aerial, 'skywriting', adverts. Founded in 1922, this fundraising appeal aimed to restore much-needed hospital funds that had been exhausted during the First World War. In the 1920s London had 127 hospitals, all of which carried out their work with no public income beyond voluntary donations. All but seven of the capital's hospitals took part in the 1922 appeal, which was organised by King Edward's Hospital Fund for London, now known as The King's Fund.